victory into a
one-run defeat that left Chesterton bemoaning what might have been Thursday.

"It magnifies it
when it's 9-8 instead of 9-2," Trojans coach Jack Campbell said after the
Duneland Athletic Conference loss to Valparaiso. "We had a couple double
relays where we didn't talk and didn't get out there that gave them an extra
base, a passed ball, a ball goes under a glove. Nobody's trying to do those
things. Baseball is a game of adjustments and if you donít adjust, it's a
difficult game."

Chesterton (5-3,
1-1) never led after Valpo (3-2, 1-1) broke a scoreless tie with two runs in
the third against Brandon Roeske (1-2). The Vikings put two more on the
board in the fourth to double the lead and Roeske's eight-strikeout outing
ended after another Valpo run scored in the fifth.

"He'd get to 0-2
and didn't finish," Campbell said.

The Trojans broke
the ice in the fourth on a Cameron O'Brien roller to second that brought in
Tyler Sufana, who led off the inning with a single and stole second. Corey
Rusboldt's line out to right field made it 5-2 in the fifth.

"(Valpo starter
Alfonso Casaday) did a nice job changing speeds, mixing up his pitches,"
Campbell said. "But we went up there like we didn't have a plan of what we
wanted to do. We get a first-pitch fastball, we take it for a strike, then
here comes a breaking ball."

Valpo struck for
four runs in the sixth off Zach Burris, aided by a walk, hit by pitch,
Chesterton's third of the game, and a two-out error.

The uprising proved
pivotal when the Trojans hung a six in their half of the frame.

"We could've laid
down," Campbell said.

Roeske doubled to
start the rally and Casaday exited after a pair of one-out walks, his only
bases on balls of the game, loaded the bases. A mishandled throw to second
on an Andrew Ralph grounder let in two runs and a dropped toss on Patrick
Tilden's roller toward first made it 9-5. Corey Rusboldt followed with a
three-run home run down the right-field line to draw the Trojans within 9-8.

"Corey's been
great," Campbell said. "He's really been hitting the ball well for us."

Cameron O'Brien,
who worked 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, singled with one out in the
seventh, but was stranded by Michael Jindra, who retired Max Benoit on a
ground out to second to end it.

"I don't think any
lead's safe," Valpo coach Dave Coyle said. "It's Indiana baseball. We played
five innings of great baseball. The wheels started to come off, but we
bounced back and made the plays to come out with the win, as ugly as it
was."

Roeske and Rusboldt
both had two hits for Chesterton, which hosts Andrean at 11 a.m. Saturday. -